Joseph steger



' section or the saine.

PATENT` OFFICE.

JOSEP-n s'rnenn, oF NEW YORK, N. r.

IMPRoi/sMENT iN .CAR-BRAKES Specification 'l'oriuig part 0i' Letters Patent No. 103.897,

dated .Tune 28, 1670.'

To all whom it may concern:

Be it knownY that l, JOSEPH STEGER, of the city, county, and State of N ew York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Car- Brakes; A to be a iull, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable those skilled in' the art to make and use the saine, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specitication, in which drawings- Figure l represents a longitudinal vertical section of this invention. Fig. 2 is an invert` ed plan of the same. Fig. 31's a transverse Similar letters indicate corresponding parts. This invention consists in a pendent lever, which is capable of being operated by a brake rope or chain-extcndingthroughout the-whole length of a car, or of a train of cars, and which carries a friction-rollerfand winding-rollers, in sueh relation to each other and to vthe fu1- crum of the-lever that when the brake-rope is pulled, and thereby the friction-roller is caused to bear upon the axle, orany part connected to said axle, the winding-rollers begin to act, and the brakes are apaot of applying the.

plied, and by 'the Vvery brakes the friction-roller isdrawn up tighter and tighter against the axle, and thereby the brake rope is relieved from considerable strain: With the pendent lever is combinedv another lever, carrying rollers over which the brake-rope passes, so as to increase the strain of the brake-rope by the leverage due t0 said lever. 'The friction-roller is mounted upon two conical disks pressed up against correspending sockets in the .sidesof the roller by means ot' a springor springs, the tension of which is adjustable by a vnut in such a 1hanner that the .power required to cause'the friction-roller to sli p on its shaft can be regulated 5 and, furthermore, formly from both sides, is not liable to lose its correct position. The oar-wheel is provided with a long hub to form a bearing for the friction-roller, and saving the necessity of securing a separate pulley on the axle.-

In the drawings, the letter A designates the frame of a truck, which runs on wheels B, mounted on the axle Q in the ordinary manner. From this truck-frame is suspended a pendent lever, D, which has its fulcrurn on pivots a, and forms the bearings for two shafts,

and I do hereby declare the followingplied..

said roller, being held uni-v l b`o-one at or near its lower end, and the other at a short distance belowr its fulcrurn-as shown Ain Fig. 1 of the drawings.

On the lower shaft, roller, d, and from said shaft b extends a rope, h, round a roller, z', which is mounted on the upper shaft, c, and on this shaft is also mounted a roller, j, which connects by means of a rope, 7c, with the equalizing-lever ofthe brakes, or with the brake-lever E, as shown.

The pendent lever D connects by a rod, Z,

with the upper end of a lever,f, which has its fulcruin on a pivot, f', on which is mounted a roller, f, while in the lower end ofsaid roller is ymounted a roller, f3. The brake-rope g extends over the roller f2, and under the roller f 3, as sh own in Fig. l, under the-truck-irametethe-neirt ear ahead, and out over the truck-,frame to the next car behind, vthe object of this arrangement being toprevent the bumper from interfering with the brakerope when the position of the locomotive is changed from one end of the -train 'to the other. Then the brake-rope is drawn up tight,.tlie leverf swings in the. direction of the arrow marked on it in Fig. l, the frictionroller d is brought to bear upon the axle O, and the shaft b is caused to revolve.` The rope his wound upon this shaft, and in being unwound from the roller the shaft c is caused 'tofrevolve, and the rope k is wound upon the roller j. By Ithese means motion is imparted to the brake-lever E, and the brakes are ap- As the .rope k is drawn up tight, the strain of this rope assists in keeping the friction-roller d in contact with thel axle, and a comparatively easy strain on the brake-rope is sutlicient vto apply the brakes. Furthermore, the strain exerted by the brake-rope on the lever D is increased by the leverage of the .lever f, 'the distance of the roller f from the fulcrum of saidlever being much larger than the distance of said fulcruxn from the connecting-point of the rod e, as shown. in Fig. l. When the strain on the brake-rope is released, the brakes are taken 0H by the action of their springs, and the` pendent lever falls back by its own inherent gravity and by that of the lever f,- or it may be subjected to the action of a separate spring for the purpose of drawingit back as soon as the strain on the brakerope ceases. l

The friotion-roller d is connected to its shaft b, is niouuted a frictionso that it passes through by means of two eene-disks,4 n, which Work in conical seats in the opposite sides of the frietion-roller, one of said disks being mounted firmly on the axle, while the other is pressed toward it by means of a spring, o, Fig. 2, the tension of which is regulated by a nnt, p. By this arrangement the friotionqolleran be set so that it will slip on its bearing before any of the ropes will break.

The ear-wheel next to the friction-roller is cast with a long hub, q, (see Fig. 3,) and the friction-roller is intended to be so situated that it will bear on said hub, and thereby the necessity of securinga pulley on the axle is avoided.

NV hat I claim as new'7 and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The pendent lever D, carrying a shaft, b, with a friction-roller, d, and another shaft, c, with winding-rollers i j, both shafts I) and c being situated below the fulerum of said pendent lever, in combination with the brakes of a railroad car, all constructed and operating substantially in the manner herein shown and described.

2. The multiplyingeleverf, carrying rollrs f'' f, in combination with the brale-rope g and pendent lever D, carrying friction-roller d, substantially as set forth.

JOSEPH s'rEGER.

XVitiiesscs:

XV. Hanni, E. F. KASTENUU'BNR. 

